Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

In the words of the artist, Ahmed Moustafa, ‘the exact geometric basis of proportioned script does not simply provide a mathematical rationale for Islamic calligraphy, explaining why this art form is so harmonious… but it implies… that the Arabic script, like music, is a finely tuned abstract vocabulary embodying universal mathematical laws, and therefore has the power to have an objective moral and spiritual effect on the viewer.’

A modern interpreter of Ibn Muqla’s geometric principles, Moustafa’s work continues the search for absolute harmony and convergence of content and form set by his predecessor. In this composition, a cube reminiscent of the Ka‘ba (Islam’s holiest shrine, located in Mecca) is built in such a way that, when open, it exposes exactly 99 units, enough to fit the 99 names of God mentioned in the Qur’anic quotation that covers the foreground.